Work has resumed at India’s only mechanized diamond mine.
It could take a year to remove soil and stone (overburden) before extraction starts at Majhgawan, in the central state of Madhya Pradesh.
But National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), India’s biggest iron ore merchant miner, hopes to produce 40,000 carats a year.
The Panna Diamond Mining Project, 15km from Panna, started commercial production in 1971 and was operated until 2017 by Rio Tinto.
Work has been halted several times at the mine. In December 2020 environmental clearances lapsed after concerns from the nearby Panna Tiger Reserve.
Production for FY2021 was 13,681 carats. There was no production in FY22, although 25,219 carats were sold from stockpiles valued at$7.5m. There was also no production in FY23 or the first 11 months of FY24.
There are over 1,000 licensed artisanal mines in the country, but only Majhgawan is mechanized.
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